Arsenal vs Leicester a few quick thoughts

If Friday night matches are as good as this then I’ll have one every week please

A seven goal thriller at The Emirates was the perfect start to this Premier League season

Although perhaps not if you are a Leicester fan

Arsenal showed how good they can be in attack but also showed how awful they can be in defence

If Alexander Lacazette opening his account for the club inside 3 minutes was ideal

Then conceding to Shinji Okazaki just a couple of minutes was certainly not part of the plan

And things would soon go from bad to worse when Jamie Vardy was given plenty of space to slot his first of the night

A back three which had Nacho Monreal at the centre of it was always going to be tested and was exactly the case

Leicester with their noses in front created something of a moody atmosphere at The Emirates as the fans had every right to think “here we go again”

Thankfully for them those fears would subside after Danny Welbeck levelled in first half injury time

A crucial goal at a crucial time

If Arsenal go into the break behind then the tension in the ground increases the team talk is a lot different

But with that goal not only is there relief in the air but it would also have taken some of the wind out of Leicester’s sails

Not enough to leave them shipwrecked though as this topsy turvy game would take another twist 11 minutes after the restart

Riyad Mahrez’s corner into Arsenal’s penalty box was put into an inviting area and Jamie Vardy did not need to ask twice for an invitation to head home to put Leicester ahead for the second time in the game

Questions will have undoubtedly been asked about Arsenal zonal marking setup

But in all fairness Leicester would have not cared for the answers

That toxic atmosphere was in danger of once again seeping round The Emirates

Arsene Wenger was given a 2 year contract a few months ago and this season he has to justify that offer

Last night would have gone somewhere to doing that after he proved his worth with two substitutions

It would require a tactical shift halfway through the second half as Rob Holding was sacrificed for Oliver Giroud and Aaron Ramsey replaced Mohamed Elneny in midfield

And that roll of the dice would pay dividends in a huge way

Firstly Ramsey equalised for The Gunners with just seven minutes to go, although there was a hugely contentious issue to the build up

Mesut Ozil clearly handled in the move that resulted in a corner which would eventually lead to the goal

Harsh on Leicester, a huge slice of luck for the home side

Ramsey would eventually smash the ball home from that corner and set up a dramatic grandstand finish

The ascendancy was with Arsenal as Leicester looked to make sure they came away with at least a point

Unfortunately for them though that was not the case as the other of those subs Oliver Giroud would clinch the winner with just 5 minutes remaining

The French international showed enough power in his header to leave Kasper Schmeichel rooted to the spot

The ball cannoned off the underside the bar and although the Danish goalkeeper scooped back into play the ball was well over the line even without the need for goalline technology

A harsh ending for Leicester who caused a lot of problems but on the balance of the statistics you would have to say that it was the right result in the end

Craig Shakespeare‘s men will point to Ozil’s handball which arguably changed the complexion of the whole game

But at the same time they should have dealt with the corner that lead to the equaliser better

Two goals from set pieces will no doubt be cause for concern for the Leicester boss and that is something that they will have to work on in training next week

Although a defeat there are plenty of positives that Leicester can take from that game but perhaps better game management at the end of both halves would have been the difference

Arsenal ultimately scored at crucial times and The Foxes were dealt a harsh lesson

Riyad Mahrez looked up for the challenge last night, whether that is because he wants to put himself in the shop window I’m not too sure

For Arsene Wenger the defensive performance may highlight the fact that they could still do with another centre back before the end of the transfer window

On a personal level, I was caught up in the emotion of the game and was cheering every Leicester goal

I guess the enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that

But any Leicester “loyalties” were ended at the final whistle as I cursed another Arsenal win

Credit to them though as they did not roll over at 3-2 and showed plenty of determination

There will also be reasons to be cheerful as this was a four goal haul without Alexis Sanchez

That said there is no way they are going to win the league this season with that defence

As far as opening fixtures go, I don’t think they get much better than that

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